LEGAL ASPECTS OF FISHERIES 79 



Shell-fish scalps are the private property 

 of the Crown. 



At one time the legal opinion seems to have 

 been that shell-fish scalps were public property 

 held in trust by the Crown. 



The case of The Laird of Grant v. Rose of 

 Kilravock, 1764, seems to be generally cited as 

 showing this. Shairp,^ however, seems to regard 

 the matter doubtfully. The report of the case 

 runs as follows^: 'In a private river a mussel 

 scalp belongs to the proprietor of the ground 

 adjacent ; in a public river it belongs, like white 

 fish, to the public, and consequently the use of it 

 is open to every one of the lieges. But as such 

 general use tends to root out every mussel scalp, 

 expediency, supported by practice, has introduced 

 a prerogative in the Crown of gifting mussel 

 scalps to individuals, which has the effect to 

 preserv^e them by the exclusive use given to the 

 grantees.' Any prerogative of gift which the 

 Crown may have possessed gradually became 

 established as absolute ownership. In passing, it 

 is interesting to note that, even at this early date, 

 the gifting of scalps had to be resorted to for the 



^ Stewart's Law of Fishing, Shairp, 2nd edition, p. 66 (note . 

 - Grant v. Rose, 1764, M. 12,801. 



